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We have all heard the stories of new rides and long lines at Walt Disney World parks. When Pandora – The World of Avatar, opened in Animal Kingdom in 2017 guest stood in lines for many hours. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened at Star Wars: #GalaxysEdge at Walt Disney World Resort on Dec. 5 and will open at Disneyland Resort on Jan. 17. Fast Passes are not available at this time for attractions in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Disney has released a new way to manage the riding process with a virtual queue and Boarding Groups. You can check into a virtual queue and get assigned a boarding group, when your boarding group is called you head to the Rise of the Resistance and ride, there is usually a brief wait.

The virtual queue will not be used every day, they will post signage around the park and on the app if it is in use.

How do you join the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios?

Enter Hollywood Studios, make sure you have all members of your party who want to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, sorry no sleeping in, no carrying everyone’s magic bands, all guests in the boarding group must be fingerprint scanned and in the park. Check the signage at the park and on the app to make sure the virtual queue is being used during your visit.

Pull up your My Disney Experience app or visit a Guest Experience Team location inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios and request to join the virtual queue and you will be assigned a boarding group. Capacity is limited and unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will be given a boarding group. Guests can join the virtual queue at the opening time for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

If you are one of the lucky ones who got there early and got a boarding group you can then use Fast Passes for other popular rides, you can explore Hollywood Studios, slip out of the park and grab lunch at Epcot. You will have a two hour window to return when your boarding group is active, if you get push notifications on your phone the app will let you know or you will have to check back in to see what boarding groups they are loading. Wait time will depend how quickly people get on and off the ride. This update is as of January 2020, if there are changes we will make a note as sometimes with new rides the procedure will change over time. We would love to hear your experiences with the new Galaxy’s Edge attractions, do you love the Rise of the Resistance?

Happy December! I am a BIG fan of the Christmas season, (my daughter and I actually start in November) Christmas carols are on every station, Hallmark Channel is on our tv 24/7 , every soap is peppermint and cookies count for breakfast if they are oatmeal right? This year we are traveling to the Georgia mountains and could not be more excited. We do have family in the area and are looking forward to visiting them and having a few holiday adventures along the way.

Lodging

We will be stopping by at least 3 of these 8 Small Georgia Towns that do Christmas right, Helen, Blue Ridge and Dahlonega. Check out our Instagram account for pictures of our holiday adventures. We decided a family Christmas had to include our furry members too so we opted to rent a cabin. I was happily surprised to find so many pet-friendly options. If we were going to stay at a hotel I found this beautiful option, Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa. They are having a Breakfast with Santa we don’t want to miss.

Local Food

I found The Sawmill Place on a previous visit but due to our schedule could not try it and I have been dreaming of those homemade biscuits I saw ever since. I think they sum it up the best on their website ” Generational recipes using farm-fresh products is the basis for our kitchen’s concept. The nostalgically Southern menu changes depending on the season and harvest. We support our local farmers and purveyors and believe you’ll taste the difference in the bounty of our mountain farmlands. “

North Georgia is a beautiful part of the state with mountains, forests and waterfalls to explore. There are wineries, orchards, history, nature, antiquing and so many different things to see and do. We are hoping we just might see a little snow too.

Magic is everywhere in Orlando during the holiday season. From the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal to the amazing Polar Express ICE at Gaylord Palms and of course Walt Disney World Resort has Christmas magic everywhere ready to be discovered.

Holidays at Universal Orlando Resort™

The halls are decked and ready for your visit, holiday fun will end Jan. 5. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ as Hogsmeade™ and Diagon Alley™ are full of holiday decorations and special treats. Watch the live retelling of Dr. Seuss’s classic holiday tale starring The Grinch™ in the Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular. Don’t miss the Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s and some beloved characters. There is so much to do at the Universal Orlando Resort during the holidays. Get a quote for your family trip now!

ICE! is a fun family experience at Gaylord Palms with an all-new theme featuring THE POLAR EXPRESS™. Experience the spirit of Christmas with the holiday story, THE POLAR EXPRESS™ , as you walk through hand-carved ice sculptures and displays. Over 2 million pounds of ice are used. Many more activities are available, view acres of decorations with over 2 million lights, you can also take a snow tube ride!

A Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom & Epcot’s International Festival of the Holidays will keep your family very busy and creating some amazing holiday memories. Check out our Pixie Dust Division Facebook Page for more pictures and information about these fun events.

How can we help you create amazing memories with your family or group of friends? Text us (1-800-873-1561) your dates and we can send you a quote and a questionnaire to get the process started!

Summer is right around the corner and popular destinations book up in advance but do not worry, there is always an option for an exciting summer vacation with a little research.

Here are 3 summer vacation ideas.

Travel Big

Book a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s newest ship the Symphony of the Seas.

Swim with Dolphins

2. Swim with the dolphins at Discovery Cove. “Welcome to Discovery Cove, an all-inclusive day resort where you and your family will experience exciting animal encounters in a breathtaking tropical atmosphere. Swim with bottlenose dolphins, feed tropical birds, snorkel through a saltwater reef and play inches from a family of otters – all in one day. ” Located in Orlando you can combine this experience with a stay at the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes and experience a natural, peaceful and quiet side of Orlando, experience a refreshing vacation.

Stay Beachside

3. The Westin Hilton Head Resort & Spa offers a relaxed oceanside location with activities for the whole family. A magical combination of spa and kids club on the property means parents can get a relaxing massage, facial or treatment with revitalizing local herbs, minerals, and their 4- to 12-year-olds can connect with their environment and learn about their destination. With a beautiful beachside location, this vacation will be the ideal place to retreat and reinvigorate.

As a travel agent, or I think a more accurate term is travel consultant, I get asked a lot of travel questions. I have been asked many times to beat a price on a “deal” they found on the internet, at Costco Travel, or on one of the big Online Travel Booking Sites. One of the biggest misconceptions is that a travel agent’s biggest advantage is saving you money. I get it, never before have we had so many choices or options to research trips, book travel, compare rates and get peer reviews of locations all while sitting on our couch. There was a time when you could not book a plane ticket without using a travel agent. Travel agencies had rows of glossy brochures lined up and ready to entice their customers with dreamy vacations on far away islands. Things changed and we are now in the current DIY stage where you can pretty much do it all from your smartphone. While there are times a travel consultant can get a better price or more often a better value for your dollars that is not the biggest advantage.

If price is not the biggest advantage to booking with a travel agent then what is?

Time, travel agents save you time.

…money is not the prime asset in life. Time is.” Gordon Gecko, Wall Street 2

On average it is estimated that the typical family vacation requires 10-20 hours or so of planning, and triple that if it is a Walt Disney World Vacation and you want Character Dining, Fast Passes etc. As a travel consultant, this is what we do, every day, and love it! A travel agent can easily use their experience to save you the time to research locations, wait on hold to book a Princess Dinner, make sure you are seated at the 2nd dining session on your cruise and so much more. They handle the details and you get the detailed itinerary and pack. They don’t pack for you but they will send you a packing list. The benefits a traveler receives from a travel agent is amazing. Since time is our most precious commodity as we can never get it back, I list that as the biggest advantage.

There are many other advantages of booking your vacation with a travel consultant, from extra upgrades to insider knowledge and you become an instant VIP. Many travel consultants are specialists in a certain area, they have forged relationships with hotels, cruise lines and their own travel agency hosts and special savings groups and consortias. Clients of Confetti Travel Company know they can trust us with all of their information. We take the time to find out as much as we can about your family so we can help match you with the perfect vacation. We work with you and your level of comfortability in booking. Some clients like to get more involved in the planning and others say “I just want to pack and you tell me where to show up”. The personalized VIP treatment is ideal in the event something goes wrong. You do not have to call 800 numbers and wait on hold to ask a question or make a change, your travel agent will take care of all of the details. Confetti Travel Company is a member of the Gifted Travel Network host agency. What that means to our customers is we have a network of helpers ready to assist us make your vacation fantastic, an amazing group of travel professionals that collaborate and help us with vetting locations, (we love to travel but there are still a few places we haven’t been), assist with any issues that arise, share ideas and so much more.

Curious to see if working with a travel agent is a good match for your family? Set up a consultation to talk about your vacation plans and we can discuss the process.

Monorail
The Walt Disney World® Resort Monorail System is undergoing refurbishment and may be on modified service and/or routes. If Guests plan to use this form or transportation during their visit they should check to be sure of the best option available on their day of travel, as alternatve transportation options will be available.